Monday, September 11, 2017

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Today's news post at the SMS is devoted to new and recent video finds on YouTube, so what lies within this post? Let's start with a source that I only just discovered via our Defunct Local Band Profile of That's Chester yesterday, that being guitarist Gabe Tessaro's YouTube channel! Launching back in November 2015 shortly after bandmate Eugene Orlando's sudden death, the current Obsession guitarist posted three exclusive That's Chester clips there from three late period concerts of theirs. I'll share the other two in future posts, but we'll start with this clip from Rotaryfest's main stage in July 2015 (the band's final traditional concert with Eugene), where they covered Deep Purple's "Hush" to close their headlining set. Filmed from a sharp side-stage angle, this isn't an optimal view of the guys (drummer Ric Datson's completely obscured by speakers), but it's a solid cover of this classic song with a neat nighttime ambiance, so give it a look below, and watch for Eugene on the keyboard!

Next up, here's a video of local pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" from a show of theirs last month at The Rockstar Bar! While not a hard rock-based group, you may recognize some of their members from prior local bands, like ex-Gsis Murphy frontman Tony Marcello, his former Midpoint bandmate Rob Struk, Touch of Class alum Tony Rota, and Glory Days drummer Paolo Erme. Filmed by a friend of the band named Gillian (source here) and uploaded to Tony's YouTube channel on Thursday, this video is just of the song's first minute, and it's very red from the bar lighting, but from what we hear, this hair metal ballad is well done! If anything, Tony noted that "the crowd does all the work on this one", referencing their eager singing-along of the opening verse, and it's great to see that everyone's engaged and into their set! Give this video a look below, and visit the band's website for more on their full setlist and schedule!

Closing with some audio-only uploads, here's the teased YouTube copy of local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's half of their and AlgomA's split "Trading Faces"! All six of Shit Liver's songs for the album are featured in this video, which was uploaded to their YouTube channel on September 5th, it's day of release. I'll hold comment until our review of the split later this month, but if you'd rather stream or preview the songs here instead of Bandcamp, you have the option below! Note that AlgomA have not posted their half on YouTube yet, but a fan has uploaded the whole thing in a single video, which I won't share at present out of respect to the brand new release.

Finally, here's a cover of Alter Bridge's "Watch Over You" by Highway 63 frontman Henry Switzer, as uploaded to his YouTube channel last week! Recorded in his music room, and set to a montage of autumn scenery, this is a quality cover with clear emotion, and while I can't confirm if Highway 63 cover this song live, this shows off Henry's vocal abilities well in particular, so check out this Sault Michigan mainstay's newest solo cover below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!